Overview
Hello guys, This guide will make age of empires 2 HD 5.x run perfectly without any lag. I know that most of you suffer from a ridiculous lag “even with good specs computers” This guide will fix the lag when clicking units/buildings etc. and also the issue of hardly moving your mouse around the screen. Anyways, I have tested out the fixes on this guide on 5 different computers with different specs and the good news is that the lag disappeared completely. [ Guide Updated 09/01/2018 ]
Step 1: Disabling, Vertical sync/3D water, Shaddow and Maximize default fps
Alright guys, I have made this step so much easier. Just download the registry fix file bellow and run it then it will do step 1 all at once.
Download the zip file: [link]
How to install the aoe2hd_fix_4.x_5.x.reg ?
1- First extract the aoe2hd_fix_4.x_5.x.reg from the zip file to your desktop.
2- Right click aoe2hd_fix_4.x_5.x.reg and then click run as administrator and finally click Yes to confirm.
For those who were unsuccessful downloading the reg file. Here are the settings you guys should copy-cat:
Also start a new game versus the computer. Within the game, hit ENTER key and type:
setmaxfps 150
You can use: getfps to check your current fps
Or click keyboard key ‘F11’ to display your fps rate.
That’s it!
Step 2: Skip intro , Disable display scaling and finally clean multi folder
Go to your Steam Game Library and right click age of empires II HD
Now click “SET LAUNCH OPTIONS”
Type inside that box the following:
SKIPINTRO
Click OK. On the same window Go to: Local Files and click Browse Local Files
Clicking Browse local files should bring up a window where age of empires 2 is installed.
Find and Right click AoK HD.exe > properties
Then, Check Disable display scaling on High DPI
Finally go to the following path:
Windows xp/7/8/10
C:Program Files (x86)SteamsteamappscommonAge2HDSaveGamemulti
(For those who got confused here, just try to access one of the paths above, one of them must*** work for you ^^)
After you find it, delete everything inside it. Do not worry those are just save games that we saved, logs, and out_of_syncs so it is very safe to remove everything in the folder. Why removing this files ? Because each time you play a game solo or multiplayer those files load as well impacting the game performance.
Step 3 Disable Steam Overlay, VR and Cloud Sync To Elevate Performance
This step has helped me a lot to reduce ingame frame lag and mouse movement. I highly recommend it.
Bear in mind that when you disable Steam Overlay, you can’t do CTRL + TAB to bring up the chat ingame. It’s still worth disabling it for the performance.
Go to your Game Library Then right click Age of empires 2 HD > Properties and untick the following
Disable Steam Overlay and VR
Disable Cloud Sync
Step 4: More Tips
1) Disable background music (suggested by [TBL’]Ariota[voobly.com] and originally the idea of Devang):
a) Go to – ‘C:Program Files (x86)SteamsteamappscommonAge2HDresources_commonsoundmusic’
b) Create a new folder called ‘Backup’ (or anything you want).
c) Move all the music files to this folder.
d) Create a new text document. Rename it from ‘New Text Document.txt’ to ‘xmusic1.mp3’ (game will crash if there’s no xmusic1.mp3 in the music folder, unlike non-HD AoE2).” That’s it
2) Disable UAC (Risky): only when you want to play the game (disabling UAC may require a restart for windows 7 users. But i would still recommend to restart your computer anyway). I myself would not disable UAC so be very very careful not to do something stupid like downloading a file from the internet/torrent or running an unknown program as that might be a malware. Once you are done playing turn UAC back on.
3) Uninstall CPU hog Antivirus: I do not recommend using Avast/AVG family antivirus. Those are the most CPU hogs you can ever find besides that they include an adware. If you would like to use a good free antivirus I would only recommend Comodo Internet Security. Or if you can afford buying an a security suite, I would recommend Kaspersky/Panda Internet Security. I have had a great experience with those as any paid security suite is guaranteed to be top notch performance.
4) Disable Windows Defender/Update. Only turn on windows update when there is a new update or at least once a month.
5) Decrease Desktop Resolution. A resolution of 1680×1080/1680×1200 performs way better than 1920×1080/1920×2000 and the difference is not that big tbh. So the lower the resolution the higher performance.
6) Disable Full screen optimization for “AoKHD.exe” in the compatibility tab. This can improve slightly/significantly mouse movement and performance.
Step 5: Use Small Tree patch
Install the latest ♥♥♥♥♥Wood patch (Small trees patch). It replaces large trees by smaller ones:
[link]This patch is a must have if you care about improving your gameplay skills. Pros and expert players can not play age of empires 2 without this patch; Besides providing the best view over the map, It also optimizes the game’s graphics for better overall performance.
Congrats!
Congratulations! Age of empires II HD should run and perform perfectly! Happy gaming 🙂
Feel free to post a feedback and rate this guide if it helped you.
I am open to discuss and help you fix the lag if you could initiate a reply.
By GregStein
Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheGregStream